James Moore: Man from the Pru Tidjane Thiam sends shivers through Credit Suisse

Debut: Tidjane Thiam took over as boss of Credit Suisse earlier this year (Picture: Arnd Wiegmann, Reuters)

There may be a few hairs rising on the backs of necks at Credit Suisse’s London investment bank this morning.

New chief executive Tidjane Thiam had the luxury of unveiling better-than-expected results and a plumper capital cushion.

But some of the bank’s “issues” were apparent — notably the investment bank. It was not a strong performer. Revenues slipped in the second quarter by 6%, profits by more than a third compared with a year ago.

Like any new chief executive Thiam, who joined from insurer Prudential on July 1, wants to stamp his mark on the business.

That is widely expected to mean the investment bank being pared back when he unveils the results of a strategic review.

The bank is instead expected to pivot towards Asia, and the less capital-intensive business of managing money for the wealthy. It’s territory Mr Thiam knows well from his time at the Pru.

There’s even speculation that a deal or two may be in the offing. Hopefully he will have learned from Pru’s disastrous attempt to take over Asian insurer AIA, which was blocked by investors and led to a personal censure from the Financial Conduct Authority.

Investors may forgive multiple incidences of mis-selling to customers but they don’t

easily forgive the mis-selling of deals. Especially if they’re accompanied by the sort of cash call Credit Suisse is expected to require.